The BBC's Paul Wood on the border of Serbia"It seems eerily like a replay of the Kosovo war" real 56kThe BBC's Fergus Nicoll"The government in Skopje is desperately concerned" real 56kThe BBC's Nicholas Wood in Skopje"The group has been trapped since fighting first erupted" real 28kBalkans Analyst Gabriel Partos"The political landscape has changed" real 28k

Friday, 9 March, 2001, 18:48 GMT

Fighting flares on Kosovo border

Macedonia has asked Nato for a buffer zone with Kosovo

Ethnic Albanian rebels have intensified their attacks against Serbian and Macedonian forces near the Kosovo border.

One Serb policeman was killed and three others injured in an exchange of fire near Lucane, just outside the Nato-controlled buffer zone between Kosovo and Serbia. Ethnic Albanians reported three people injured.

We insist on effective measures

Srdjan Kerim, Macedonian Foreign Minister

In Macedonia, a policeman was killed as the rebels managed to trap a government convoy for several hours near the villages of Brest and Malino.

The incidents come as Nato considers deploying troops along the volatile Macedonian border with Kosovo.